unhinged

adjective

un·​hinged ˌən-ˈhinjd 

: highly disturbed, unstable, or distraught

attacked by an unhinged extremist

Somewhere along the way, her pursuit of a hot guy turned into unhinged obsession.

—Cosmopolitan

"Is this a new brand of humour? Or is your brain really unhinged?" inquired Tommy.

—Agatha Christie

see also unhinge

Synonyms

• balmy
• barmy [chiefly British]
• bats
• batty
• bedlam
• bonkers
• brainsick
• bughouse [slang]
• certifiable
• crackbrained
• cracked
• crackers
• crackpot
• cranky [dialect]
• crazed
• crazy
• cuckoo
• daffy
• daft
• demented
• deranged
• fruity [slang]
• gaga
• haywire
• insane
• kooky
• kookie
• loco [slang]
• loony
• looney
• loony tunes
• looney tunes
• lunatic
• mad
• maniacal
• maniac
• mental
• meshuga
• meshugge
• meshugah
• meshuggah
• moonstruck
• non compos mentis
• nuts
• nutty
• psycho
• psychotic
• scatty [chiefly British]
• screwy
• unbalanced
• unsound
• wacko
• whacko
• wacky
• whacky
• wud [chiefly Scottish]

Examples of unhinged in a Sentence

destined to become one of the nation's most notorious serial killers, he apparently became unhinged as a result of being abandoned as a young teen

Recent Examples on the Web

As the family tries to fit in, Linda begins investigating what an unhinged mother swears is the kidnapping of her two children, both of whom are fighting a rare form of cancer. —Paula L. Woods, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024

Vying for Norma’s crown is Evelyn Rollins (an unhinged, thrilling Allison Janney), who is just waiting for her filthy rich husband, Skeet (Bruce Dern), to die. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 18 Mar. 2024

Then, after a Mother’s Day photo of the princess and her three children was believed to have been altered — and subsequently pulled by news agencies — things started to get more serious and more unhinged. —Aj Willingham, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024

That person can be faulty and uneven, immoral and unhinged. —Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2024

Actual pro fighter Conor McGregor also pops up to chew scenery — and noses — as an unhinged enforcer named Knox. —Devan Coggan, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2024

There was really an unhinged raw live feeling on Romantic and an evolved slickness on Patience. —Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2024

Even so, the episode with the legendary programmer John Carmack has an unhinged director’s-cut feel to it. —Sheon Han, WIRED, 4 Mar. 2024

The new series is emotionally hollow, tonally dissonant and yells its themes at the audience like an unhinged political podcast. —Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above